


Be mine

by starrystarrytrouble



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, so much pining, with a side of extra pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29244180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrystarrytrouble/pseuds/starrystarrytrouble
Summary: When she gets hit on by a stranger at Donahue's, Ethan pretends to be MC’s Valentine’s date.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 16





	Be mine

She’s wearing red. That should be a warning sign for him. 

But then it isn’t Ethan’s head doing the thinking. 

So this is what it comes to, he thinks, years of an impeccable medical career, hours of hard work staining long nights with little sleep. 

To be finally so utterly defeated by waves of dark hair and starry green eyes. 

He peers through the door of Donahue’s, resisting the small smile that threatens to appear on his face as he sees her sat by the bar.

He has few weaknesses. What he can’t do he learns to do and aside from a penchant for expensive scotch and German cars, he has no vices. 

Except now, all except one. 

The breeze is warmer now, February brings a change in the air, and much as he despises the constant stream of red and pink décor, he’s already spent the whole day reminded of her name at every turn. 

Valentine’s Day. 

He slips into the bar and their eyes lock on one another at once. Her gaze is obscene, hidden under dark lashes, her silk dress clinging to her as she sweeps her hair over one side uncovering the curves of her shoulder.

She’s teasing him. 

Since Miami, she’s been doing it a lot. He shouldn’t take it seriously he reminds himself. He’s fighting their inevitable and if she isn’t going to co-operate, well then, he’ll have to fight harder on his own.

But then suddenly her look changes. As her companion, a younger man he hasn’t even noticed until now, probably a surgeon judging by his strong build and annoyingly tousled blonde hair, reaches over to touch her shoulder, she flinches away.

And she looks up at Ethan with the same hard stare.

Desperation.

Her eyes are wide again as she politely smiles at the moron in front of her and then looks back up at her mentor with an exaggerated glare.

Christ, was that a cry for help?

If he was hassling her, Ethan would step in immediately. But it doesn’t look that way. It’s almost like she wants a polite way out. 

He contemplates getting a drink and keeping an eye on her from the other side of the bar. That’s the safe option. 

And then he hears the idiot surgeon laugh loudly and poke her shoulder playfully. Almost in slow motion, he watches the man’s tanned fingers slide down her arm softly and he feels red heat rise up his chest. An unfamiliar rage stirs inside. 

Enough is enough. 

He sits himself on the other side of them, within easy reach. Her eyes flicker towards him, an enchanting glow of relief dancing on her face.

“Eve, another drink?”

He uses her first name carefully, still unsure of the situation unfolding in front of him. 

“Red wine, thanks.”

“You don’t drink red.” 

He says it involuntarily, snapping his mouth closed immediately. The implication, the knowledge of her, the intimacy that betrays him, he hates it all. He shouldn’t know these things, yet he does.

A delicate smile flutters over her, like sunrise over the ocean, and a faint blush lights up her cheeks.

“I’m taking a risk with something new. You should try it, you might like it.”

She locks eyes with him and doesn’t let go.

Electricity crackles between them at a thousand volts. 

He tries to remember how to swallow. This is not like being at the hospital. 

They’re equals in this bar. 

One of them infinitely more equal than the other.

Her lips are burgundy. Painted much deeper than usual, he notices. And her hair ripples down her shoulders pooling like the darkest ink. 

It’s intoxicating.

A current so strong that the asshole sitting between them notices. 

“I’m talking to her buddy,” he says with what he must think is a charming smile.

“I can see that,” Ethan answers, his eyes not leaving Eve.

“Back off then.”

“Look, what is your problem?”

“I’m her date, that’s my problem,” Ethan says without thinking.

Eve coughs in surprise but schools her features quickly.

And the next look on her face will be etched into his mind for eternity. 

She’s beaming. 

Like a single strand of sunlight through a crack in the blind.

Golden.

The so-called surgeon has the audacity to look Ethan up and down appraisingly. 

“This guy’s too old for you, baby,” he declares.

“That’s Ethan Ramsey,” Eve says, struggling to contain her laughter.

“Who’s that?”

The disgust and disbelief on Ethan’s face is too much and she’s laughing, but his next words silence her. 

“Her boyfriend.”

Eyes still locked, the thrill passes over both of them in a shiver.

To break the spell, Ethan stands up and stares down at the unwanted idiot before him. 

The young surgeon isn’t rattled, he has the nerve to stand up and meet Ethan’s piercing eyes head-on.

And he’s tall too. 

The two men stare at each other, the unbreaking gaze nothing like the one the attending shared with Eve moments ago. 

He has no idea what he’s doing. All he knows is that he has to try to maintain dignity while doing it.

And then, like the first wisps of breeze on a burning hot day, he feels her by his side.

She’s by his ribcage, and his breath hitches in his chest caught at the exact spot she begins. 

Her body tessellates into his perfectly and he tries to forget the last time they were this close on a Miami balcony. 

She gives him a shy glance loaded with meaning. 

When did he get so good at communicating wordlessly with an intern he wonders. 

But he takes the hint and places his hand on her waist.

Shit. The dress has no back. 

She arches into the warmth radiating off his hand on her bare skin and glances up at him again, breathless.

But she composes herself quickly and runs an alluring hand over his chest.

It’s his turn to lose himself as feels her nails dig through the thin white shirt. 

For a second Ethan’s lost, curiously watching her run the length of her graceful fingers over his heart. Her voice lifts him from his daze, as he realises, she’s speaking to their companion. 

Who for some irritating reason is still stood there. 

“Sorry baby, we’re pretty happy together actually,” she says sultrily. 

She beams at him and Ethan recognises the look of absolute mischief on her face immediately. 

“Whatever.” 

The surgeon, or whatever he is, leaves with a huff, not realising the utter devastation occurring behind him.

She’s still wrapped around Ethan, and the second she places her focus back on him she realises that he hasn’t moved. 

She can barely bring himself to breathe, in fear of breaking the spell.

Because make no mistake, that’s what this is. He’s bewitched.

They’re so close, he feels her in his blood.

Charging through his veins with every thump of his thundering pulse, he’s not sure which heartbeat is his and which is hers.

That’s Eve. Exciting, dangerous and utterly frustrating.

He’s orbiting her. Whether he wants to or not, the pull is too strong.

He can manage, he thinks, stave her off just a little longer for the intensity to subside. Maybe he won’t be drawn to her someday.

She bites down on the plushness of her burgundy lip.

Or maybe he’ll just let them collide.

“Thanks for the save,” she whispers, her lips a breath away from his.

“Was it… just a save?” he hears his own voice mutter.

Words stall at her chest and she stares at him. 

He moves a strand of hair away from her face tenderly and he swears he feels her breath catch.

He leans in a fragment nearer.

Everything around them melts into silence.

He stares into her glittering eyes.

And moves closer. 

The bar door opens with a roar and someone shouts her name.

“Eve!”

They jump apart before her friends can see.

“Oh hey, Dr Ramsey. Wanna join us?” Trinh asks.

“No. Goodnight, doctors.”

His voice is terse. He sweeps away without another word.

“What were you and Ramsey gossiping about?” he hears someone ask her.

As he steps outside, the cool night air washes over him with relief. 

He glances back, even though he knows he shouldn’t, and meets her eye. She gives him a faint smile and nods as he shuts the door between them. 

This is worse than kissing her, worse than not being able to kiss her again.

The potential for what they could be. 

The words were embedded in his mind, for eternity now it felt. Boyfriend, together, date and then that last one, the word that had bloomed from her lips like paradise. 

Happy. 

He’ll want her forever. 

And just like every night, long after he’s closed his eyes, it’s hers he’ll see.


End file.
